The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Button Men from Cheapass games (www.cheapass.com) takes five minutes to learn and a lifetime to master. Well, maybe not a lifetime, but there's more going on in this game then one might think from a quick read of the rules.

So what is Button Men? An addictive combat dice game that is very simple to learn, but with enough strategy to keep the average gamer busy for hours. For about five bucks you get a 3" x 4" reclosable bag containing the rules and two button men. The Button men are actually standard sized (about 2 1/2" dia) metal buttons with a picture of the button man combatant on the front. Along the right side are four or five circled numbers indicating the dice the button man uses in game play. Die types range from d4 to d20 and are not included. Typically, one of the circled numbers is an "X" indicating that the player may substitute in any die type he wants to.

There are five seperate pairs of button men available and more are on the way, each with it's own strengths and weakness'. The rules say it's a two person game, but we played with three people without a hitch. Other players could be added, but unless their math skills are up to speed, it could slow down game play a bit.

Once the Button Man and dice are picked out each player rolls all their dice. The player with the lowest die goes first. On each player's turn they must capture one of the opponent's dice, then it's the other player's turn. Play continues until all of one sides dice have been captured.

There are two ways to capture dice. Using brute force and using skill. Using brute force, known as a "Power Attack", take one die that has an equal or higher number than one of your opponent's dice and capture his die. The captured die is now out of play and the capturing die is rerolled. Using skill, known as a "Skill Attack", use any number of dice and if they add up to a number equal to one of your opponent's dice, then you capture it. Again, capturing dice are rerolled.

After all the dice from one side have been captured, add up the value of the dice for a point total. That's all there is to it. The entire round may take as long as ten minutes.

It seems simple enough, but there's plenty more going on beneath the surface that becomes evident the more the game is played. Big dice can often take out anything, but little dice often add up to big dice. While big dice are effective they are also worth a lot of points, while little dice are seldom worth much. Little dice are also fast, but they don't always add up to exactly what is needed. That's just the begining, often there are numerous combinations that could capture a die, so which one is best?

I could go on and on. Suffice it to say that we ended up playing for hours and had a great time. In the future, I could see Button Man tournaments, playing for dice, playing for button men, and team play. All with a 5 dollar game that fits in your pocket.

What more could you ask for? Go out and try Button Men today.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Button Men
Author: James Ernest Category: Dice Game Company/Publisher: Cheapass Games Line: dice game Cost: $4.95 Page count: n/a ISBN: n/a Playtest Review by Domo on 04/04/99. Genre tags: none	Button Men from Cheapass games (www.cheapass.com) takes five minutes to learn and a lifetime to master. Well, maybe not a lifetime, but there's more going on in this game then one might think from a quick read of the rules. So what is Button Men? An addictive combat dice game that is very simple to learn, but with enough strategy to keep the average gamer busy for hours. For about five bucks you get a 3" x 4" reclosable bag containing the rules and two button men. The Button men are actually standard sized (about 2 1/2" dia) metal buttons with a picture of the button man combatant on the front. Along the right side are four or five circled numbers indicating the dice the button man uses in game play. Die types range from d4 to d20 and are not included. Typically, one of the circled numbers is an "X" indicating that the player may substitute in any die type he wants to. There are five seperate pairs of button men available and more are on the way, each with it's own strengths and weakness'. The rules say it's a two person game, but we played with three people without a hitch. Other players could be added, but unless their math skills are up to speed, it could slow down game play a bit. Once the Button Man and dice are picked out each player rolls all their dice. The player with the lowest die goes first. On each player's turn they must capture one of the opponent's dice, then it's the other player's turn. Play continues until all of one sides dice have been captured. There are two ways to capture dice. Using brute force and using skill. Using brute force, known as a "Power Attack", take one die that has an equal or higher number than one of your opponent's dice and capture his die. The captured die is now out of play and the capturing die is rerolled. Using skill, known as a "Skill Attack", use any number of dice and if they add up to a number equal to one of your opponent's dice, then you capture it. Again, capturing dice are rerolled. After all the dice from one side have been captured, add up the value of the dice for a point total. That's all there is to it. The entire round may take as long as ten minutes. It seems simple enough, but there's plenty more going on beneath the surface that becomes evident the more the game is played. Big dice can often take out anything, but little dice often add up to big dice. While big dice are effective they are also worth a lot of points, while little dice are seldom worth much. Little dice are also fast, but they don't always add up to exactly what is needed. That's just the begining, often there are numerous combinations that could capture a die, so which one is best? I could go on and on. Suffice it to say that we ended up playing for hours and had a great time. In the future, I could see Button Man tournaments, playing for dice, playing for button men, and team play. All with a 5 dollar game that fits in your pocket. What more could you ask for? Go out and try Button Men today. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)